


Winter Wonderland

by redbluezero



Series: Red's SAO Prideweek 2020 Fics [3]
Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Childhood Friends, Christmas Music, Coming Out, Heteronormativity, Mutual Pining, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, also known as sachi rethinks all the times shes kissed keita under the pretense of girls being girls, im sorry guys i love them but they def would and you know it, not really but you know the feeling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25752811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redbluezero/pseuds/redbluezero
Summary: “O-Oh, is that Winter Wonderland playing from that store’s radio?” Sachi asked, having noticed a faint song leak out from a nearby supermarket.“Yeah, I think it is!” Keita followed up, oblivious as always, “Wanna sing along? You do the high parts, I do the low parts, like usual?”“Y-Yeah, sure! I guess now I know why you always insist on singing the male parts in our duets,” Sachi replied.-Two years prior to the SAO incident, Keita comes out to Sachi as transgender.
Series: Red's SAO Prideweek 2020 Fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864996
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4
Collections: SAO Pride Week 2020





	Winter Wonderland

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day three - rainy day/childhood
> 
> Warnings I couldn't fit in the tags: Divorce mention (Sachi's parents), a really sardonic joke about the fact that Keita and Sachi die

Sachi could tell when her best friend was worried about something. They’d known each other for so long that she could spot all the signs; outbursts at otherwise menial things, pensive stares into the distance, and perpetually clenched fists at worst. There was clearly something wrong and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

As the duo walked home, familiar shops passing them by, a light snow began to fall. It’d been frigid for the past few days, as winter was in full swing. They were both bundled up in thick coats— though Sachi noticed that her friend’s new jacket was much bulkier than her own— and they walked hand in hand in pocket to conserve some warmth. Using that to her advantage, Sachi came to a halt strong enough to hold back her friend as well. Soon, they came eye to eye.

“Kei-chan, talk to me,” she demanded in the firmest voice she could muster. She scrunched up her face, trying to seem intimidating. She’d always been a bit of a wuss, so she doubted her effectiveness, but she made the effort. The stakes were too high not to.

“About what, Christmas? I already told you, my parents said you could come over again this year,” her friend replied fussily. The response was quick, simple, and distracting. That made Sachi  _ certain  _ that something was amiss.

“No, not that. You’ve just… I don’t know, you’ve been acting weird lately. Like there’s something weighing on you,” she clarified. Suddenly, the hand wrapped around hers gave a squeeze even harder than before. Sachi felt her heart drop; it was that bad, huh?

For as long as they’d known each other, “Kei-chan” had been the more optimistic of the two. When Sachi’s parents fought, “Kei-chan” was there to drag her to the playground and make the world bright again. When her parents finally got divorced, “Kei-chan” was there to give her flowers picked sneakily from the neighbor’s garden and make the world warm again. That was just who “Kei-chan” was at heart.

So how was Sachi supposed to react when told that the reason that “Kei-chan” was so anxious was because she wasn’t “Kei-chan” at all?

“What… do you mean?” Sachi asked, dumbfounded. All of her teachers praised her for being an exceptionally bright eighth grader, so her comprehension of the words couldn’t have been the problem. She stared expectantly at her best friend.

“What I… mean is that I’m… a boy,” he muttered. It was an absurd claim, in Sachi’s mind, but at least he had something to show for it; though hesitantly, he  _ had _ switched his personal pronoun to a more masculine one… which only made things  _ more _ confusing. He stared down at his shoes, which were covered in a thin layer of snow, almost ashamed.

“Kei-chan, we go to the same locker room for PE and we wear the same school uniform. What do you  _ mean _ you’re a boy?” Sachi argued. She wasn’t trying to prove a point or anything, she just didn’t understand. Even so, her friend flinched at her remark. He made a point to stick out his tongue in disgust before regaining composure.

“I mean that I’m a boy, the world just doesn’t see me as one,” he elaborated softly. He managed to look at Sachi in the eyes for a moment but quickly glanced away toward the gray sky. “Not yet, anyway. But they will  _ some _ day, I’ll make sure of it!” A small grin creeped onto his face, like a kid anticipating the day when his wildest dreams would come true.

“Wait, are you like one of the voice actors from that mobile game we like? What was the word… transgender?” Sachi asked, finally starting to put two and two together. Her best friend nodded vigorously.

“Yeah, exactly that. It took me a while to figure myself out, but I’m sure. I’ve been acting all antsy ‘cause I wanted you to be the first to know,” he affirmed with a chuckle. Slowly, he was returning to his usual self… which made Sachi feel a pang of guilt. He’d kept a part of himself hidden for so long, worried about it for longer, and she hadn’t been able to comfort him. She hadn’t even  _ known _ about it. Some best friend she was.

“Why’re you making that pouty face? Even though I plan to wear the boy’s uniform when we get to high school and, in the future, change the gender on my papers and stuff, I’m still the same me,” he asked in a dense manner. His one flaw was that, most times, he didn’t understand  _ why  _ others needed comfort. He just did it whenever he saw someone who could use it.

“Those are… a lot of changes,” Sachi muttered to herself. The realization set in slowly and, as it did, her eyes widened little by little. The one constant in her hectic life had been her best friend. She wanted to be there for him as he’d been there for her, but a weak voice started to creep up in the back of her mind.

“I think, sometimes, it’s important to make changes,” he said with a childish tone despite the maturity of his words. Still, he was good at thinking of everyone, of the big picture. It was his skill despite everything, which was why Sachi had been naturally drawn to him. He was her foil, her better half.

She remembered her father walking out on her clear as day. At the time, she hadn’t truly processed that it was the last time she’d ever see him. She did recognize that it was something to be sad about, though, so she snuck out later that evening to sob in one of the tube slides at the park. She almost made a run for it, which seemed to be  _ her  _ skill, when she heard footsteps coming from behind her. But the sweet voice of the neighbor’s son, and his small palm resting on her shoulder, kept her from doing so. He’d naïvely asked what was wrong, why she was crying, and everything came pouring out. On that day, he promised that he’d always be by her side— and, if he had to, even die with her.

Of course, they’d been three or four at the time, and it wasn’t as if a promise that drastic would ever need to be fulfilled.

From then on, they did everything together. Wherever one went, the other was sure to follow. But all of a sudden, Sachi felt as though he was going forward without her, moving along in life on his own. His words made her envision his taller, older self walking far ahead and away from her. She was beginning to doubt his promise.

“You’re… not going to leave me, too, are you?” Sachi blurted out. She covered her mouth with her free hand as soon as she noticed what she’d said. Her best friend had been brave enough to come out to her and  _ still  _ she thought only of herself. Sachi was ashamed of her self-absorption. She wished she’d bitten her tongue.

“No, I’ll still be by your side. I’m just gonna… grow up, you know?” he replied softly. He said it gently yet firmly. He was good at speaking with just the right tone to soothe her. He always had been. He always would be, right? She decided to have faith in him.

“You better grow up handsome, then,” Sachi quipped, giggling slightly. However, embarrassment quickly set in as she realized what she’d said. Her best friend was a boy, so could she really be flirty like that? Suddenly, he was a part of her potential dating pool… That made countless of her memories with him awkward, too, so Sachi shook her head and stopped thinking about it. She was too flustered to notice  _ his _ slight blush, which he quickly brushed off in an exchange for a wide grin.

“Will do, whenever I start hormones! But first, I gotta come up with a name by the end of the month! Out with the old, in with new!” he cheered, the holiday spirit doubling his enthusiasm. He pumped his fist in the air.  _ Come to think of it, the Yasaku family is pretty rigorous with their New Year’s cleaning,  _ Sachi thought to herself. Filled with a determination that somehow arose when thinking about her best friend’s family, she decided to help him in his naming endeavors. It was the least she could do to make up for her embarrassing initial reaction.

“What names do you have in mind? I’ll help you test the waters,” Sachi asked compassionately. She cocked her head to the side and gave her best friend a sweet smile.

“Well, to be honest, I… kinda feel like my name should stay Kei ‘cause that’s what you call me and you’re important to me… If only it sounded manlier,” he admitted sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and let out a weak laugh.

“That’s the only thing you’re worried about?” Sachi said, somewhat shocked. She furrowed her eyebrows in thought for a second before putting on an impish smirk. It seemed as though a light bulb had gone off in her head.

“In that case, I’ll give you an early Christmas present… Keita-kun.”

“Huh? No, it’s fine, I can— Wait, what did you just call me?” he sputtered, not expecting his dilemma to be fixed so quickly. Sachi burst out into laughter.

“Sorry, sorry, that was dumb of me! I just figured, you know, your problem could be solved by tacking on a masculine suffix and switching your honorific,” she explained through chuckles. For something she’d thought up on the spot, though, it wasn’t that bad of an idea. She almost felt a bit proud, even though her best friend probably wouldn’t use it—

“I love it. Thank you, Sacchan.”

It was Sachi’s turn to blush. She blinked a few times, not able to believe that her idea actually  _ worked,  _ and finally saw that Keita’s face was quite red as well.  _ It’s probably just because of the cold,  _ she thought… but what if it wasn’t? What if he cherished the name… because _ she _ gave it to him?

He  _ had _ said that he was on the fence about changing it if only because he didn’t want to get rid of  _ her  _ nickname for him. All of a sudden, she felt compelled to close the distance between them. She stood on her tiptoes, making herself tall enough to reach his face, and inched her lips closer and closer to his… 

A singular snowflake landed on Keita’s nose at that very moment. It startled him so bad that it made him jump backward. He then wiped the melted ice off of his face and, with it, his blush. It seemed that the chill was the last push he needed to revert to normal. Sachi was glad for that, at least, since seeing him act all broody the past week or so had been a _ weird _ experience. She felt a bit bummed that he did a one-eighty so fast, since it killed the mood, but it was good to know that her  _ best friend _ hadn’t changed much in the end.

“O-Oh, is that Winter Wonderland playing from that store’s radio?” Sachi asked, having noticed a faint song leak out from a nearby supermarket. She was desperate to forget about whatever she’d been about to do herself, so she nudged her chin in the direction of its transparent sliding doors to get a better listen.

“Yeah, I think it is!” Keita followed up, oblivious as always, “Wanna sing along? You do the high parts, I do the low parts, like usual?”

“Y-Yeah, sure! I guess now I know why you always insist on singing the male parts in our duets,” Sachi replied. He flinched, not expecting the call out, then nodded bashfully. Soon after, though, Keita patted his side twice to change the topic.

“But enough about me! I wanna sing with  _ you _ now!” he huffed. Those five enabling words had the power to make Sachi go off on tangents, which he was most likely taking advantage of.

“Alright! The first seven verses have passed, so let’s hop in at verse nine!” she pointed out, forgetting about everything else. Singing always made her feel better, especially Christmas songs. Despite the language barrier, Sachi knew that they were supposed to make one feel cozy. They at least made  _ her _ feel like she belonged, perhaps with a certain somebody by her side. Winter was a beloved season to the pair of friends for that unspoken reason.

“Roger that, Sacchan!” Keita affirmed. With that, they chimed in with the voice on the speaker. As a result of their thorough practice over the years, or maybe just their bond, they were in perfect harmony with each other.

_ In the meadow we can build a snowman _

_ And pretend that he is Parson Brown _

_ He'll say "Are you married?" _

_ We'll say "No man" _

_ You can do the job _

_ When you're in town _

_ Later on, we'll conspire _

_ As we dream, by the fire _

_ To face unafraid _

_ The plans that we've made _

_ Walking in a winter wonderland _

As they sang, the snow began to fall harder. It nestled its way between the crevices of their hats and flew into their hair. They’d be drenched in no time, but they couldn’t care less. They danced together in the middle of the sidewalk, still holding hands, with giddy smiles on their faces. For a fleeting moment, they were the only two people in the world. And deep in their hearts, they knew that they were singing the lyrics to each other.

**Author's Note:**

> This was just my character study on Keita and Sachi's relationship that I've been itching to write for so long that I ended up throwing it in here. Also, yes, I made them idolm@ster fans.
> 
> edit: SO when I drafted this the trailer for the next episode (obviously) hadn’t dropped yet but now it’s PERFECT timing that I post this fic because HOLY CRAP Sachi in the new art style! She looks so beautiful!


End file.
